In inhalation therapy, a patient is treated with a gas stream comprised of highly moisturized oxygen, or of highly moisturized admixed air and oxygen. The gas stream is continuously moisturized using a nebulizer device that atomizes either pure water or an aqueous physiological saline solution, with or without added medication. A pressurized oxygen stream is employed in combination with a Venturi device to draw and break up a water stream from a reservoir vessel into an aerosol which is then dispersed throughout the resulting gas stream. The thus moisturized gas stream is delivered through a hose to the patient.
Depending upon such factors as the patient's condition, the objectives of the attending physician, and the like, nebulizer device must provide controlled oxygen content and temperature of the treating gas stream delivered to a patient. Thus, the nebulizing device needs to have the capacity not only to moisturize the treating gas stream, but also to vary, to a desired and controlled extent, the ratio of oxygen to air in the treating gas stream as well as the temperature of the moistened gas stream. Also, it is desirable for the nebulizing device to provide a humidified gas stream generated by it that is substantially free from water droplets larger than those of aerosol size.
The provision of simple, economical, relatively small sized, versatile nebulizer device which can provide all such functions has proven to be very difficult to accomplish in practice. Bulky and complex equipment, heavy power requirements for heating, non-uniform moisturizing and heating, and the like, are commonplace in the nebulizer art.
The art needs simple, reliable, compact efficient, and economical nebulizer apparatus with gas heating capabilities which apparatus can be easily operated, cleaned, and serviced. The present invention satisfies these needs.